Jerome Robbins

In September, Robbins enters first grade at Hamilton School in Weehawken.

Robbins joins Cluck Sandor’s Dance Center Company on an unpaid basis. Sandor, choreographor for the famed Group Theater, gets Robbins work doing odd jobs for the Group.

Robbins is spellbound by the theater life. Sanford Meisner gives lessons to the Dance Center Company in “imagination and concentration.” Robbins immerses himself in all kinds of classes, including those of Martha Graham.

In the fall, choreographer George Balenchine selects Robbins as one of the 11 men he needs for the Broadway show Great Lady.

Robbins sees Apollo, his first Balanchine ballet, and is deeply impressed.

Ballet Theatre suggests to Robbins that he come up with an idea for a small ballet. He decides on an American-inspired piece. The idea involves six dancers. Searching for an American score he meets the the unknown Leonard Bernstein.

On April 18 at the Metropolitan Opera House, with Leonard Bernstein on the podium, Robbins Fancy Free debuts and ballet history is forever changed. Robbins performs one of the three lead roles of sailors on shore leave in Manhattan.

Robbins and Bernstein turn to friends Betty Comden and Adolph Green to write the book and lyrics for On the Town, based on Fancy Free, which on December 28 opens to rave reviews. George Abbott directs.

Robbins moves to 24 W. 10th Street on the same block as Bernstein, Oliver Smith (set designer and co-founder of Ballet Theatre), and authors Jane & Paul Bowles. His apartment becomes a cultural hub for these frequent collaborators. 

Robbins wins a number of awards, including his first Tony Award for Best Choreographer for High Button Shoes.

Robbins turns 30 and sees Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco, Orpheus and Symphony in C at the nascent New York City Ballet at City Center. Returning home, he writes to Balanchine “I’d like to work with you.” Balanchine replies, “Come on.” Robbins joins NYCB.

Robbins’ first ballet for NYCB, The Guests, debuts in January. At age 31, he is named New York City Ballet’s Associate Artistic Director.

Robbins works with Balanchine on The Nutcracker, staging the “fight scene” in the ballet’s first act. For New York City Opera, Robbins directs Aaron Copland’s opera, The Tender Land. His mother attends the opening despite being ill. She dies on April 12. Later that year, he directs and choreographs Peter Pan.

Robbins receives an Emmy Award for the televised version of Peter Pan.

The Concert, a comic masterpiece, would be the last ballet Robbins makes on NYCB until 1969.

Rehearsals begin for the ground breaking musical transplanting Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to modern day New York. Conceived by Robbins, he enlists Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim to work on West Side Story, which pre mieres on Broadway on September 26. Robbins choreo graphs and directs.

Robbins creates Ballets U.S.A., a 16 member, ethnically diverse company of dancers for a visit to Spoleto, Italy. Robbins will frequently work and tour with the troupe. West Side Story wins Robbins the Tony Award for Best Choreography among many other honors. He has three projects on Broadway. Bells Are Ringing, West Side Story and Ballets: U.S.A

Gypsy opens on Broadway on May 21. Ballets: U.S.A. visits seven international festivals and 16 European countries. On tour, Robbins tries to visit his father’s hometown; but finds it no longer exists.

American Ballet Theatre agrees to produce Robbins’ Les Noces to Stravinsky’s score. Robbins is production supervisor on the musical Funny Girl. It opens March 26 and is a huge hit. Fiddler on the Roof opens in the fall, and Robbins father, who is in the audience, is moved by how his son has captured the cul tural traditions of his own youth. Robbins is made a Chevalier de l‘Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, the first of several honors from the government of France.

ABT performs the world premiere of Les Noces on March 30. In June the National Endowment for the Arts grants Robbins $300,000 to establish an American lyric theater workshop, Robbins creates the American Theater Lab (ATL). He receives Tony Awards for Best Choreographer and Best Director for Fiddler on the Roof.

Robbins returns to NYCB after an absence of 13 years with an hour-long masterpiece set to piano music by Chopin. On May 22, Dances at a Gathering is hailed by critics and audiences.

After two years of studio development, in May, Robbins unveils the towering, 75-minute The Goldberg Variations to great acclaim. It marks a fascination with the music of J.S. Bach that will endure until the end of his life. 

Robbins presents Watermill, an epic, Noh theater-inspired piece. It is a controversial sensation and takes its name from a small town on Long Island where Robbins kept a residence. 

As part of the Stravinsky Festival, Balanchine and Robbins co-choreograph and appear in Pulcinella. Robbins creates four ballets for the historic celebration. 

At age 56, Robbins steps on stage once more to perform an excerpt with other original cast members of Fancy Free for ABT’S 35th Anniversary. He creates five ballets for NYCB’s Ravel Festival.

Robbins creates the only new ballets to be made on Mikhail Baryshnikov during the dancer’s tenure at NYCB: The Four Seasons and Opus 191 The Dreamer. Robbins works on the televised Baryshnikov at the White House and the two meet President Jimmy Carter.

Robbins collaborates with Balanchine on the choreography for Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme for Rudolf Nureyev.

Robbins creates three ballets for NYCB’s Tschaikovsky Festival including Andantino and Piano Pieces. He creates The Jerome Robbins Chamber Dance Company (with NYCB dancers) for the first official U.S. Department of State cultural exchange to the People’s Republic of China. In December Robbins is named a Kennedy Center Honoree. 

Balanchine dies on April 30. On December 6, Robbins appears as Herr Drosselmeier in the 1,000th performance of The Nutcracker, which also marks Peter Martins’ final performance as a dancer.

Robbins’ Glass Pieces premieres on May 12 and I’m Old Fashioned premieres on June 16. Both become instant audience favorites.

Robbins and Martins named co-Ballet Masters in Chief of New York City Ballet. 

Robbins revisits and works on sections from his past musicals with original cast members. In the fall, he directs the landmark “Dancing for Life” AIDS benefit at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center. 

Jerome Robbins Broadway opens to great success and earns Robbins the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical. NYCB celebrates his 70th birthday at its Spring Gala. In November, Robbins steps down as co-Ballet Master in Chief but maintains his affiliation with the Company.

Nureyev, then director of the Paris Opera Ballet, invites Robbins to set several of his ballets on the company.

Over several seasons, Paris Opera Ballet acquires a Robbins repertory second only to NYCB.

A dog-lover all his life, Robbins had a number of beloved pets. He met one, a mutt, on the steps of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She refused to leave the choreographer alone. He took her home and named her Tess. She will be with him on his bed on the day he dies.

NYCB presents a three-week Festival of Jerome Robbins Ballets during the spring, showcasing 27 of the choreographer’s greatest works. 

France awards Robbins its highest honor for a non French citizen, the Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur.

Robbins held deep affection for young people throughout his life. He creates 2&3 Part Inventions (Bach) on students of the School of American Ballet which premieres at SAB’s Annual Workshop Performance in June, Robbins again works with Baryshnikov on A Suite of Dances set to Bach solo cello suites.

Robbins creates his last original work for NYCB. Brandenburg is an ensemble piece set to Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos.

Robbins makes a last visit to his beloved Long Island beach cottage. He dies at home in Manhattan on July 29 at age 79.